Hi, I'm Pramendra Gupta, Globalization Strategy at freee. This article is Day 16 of "Me and DEI" / 「私とDEI」 in the freee DEI Advent Calendar.

I joined the Global Engineering team in April 2003. Now at Globalization Strategy at freee. Previously, I was at Mercari and Uniqlo as the first foreign engineer with first-hand globalization experience.

Leveraging global talent is vital for scaling and innovation in today's economy. At freee k k, I have embarked on transforming engineering practices through DEI-focused globalization.

Globalization at freee

The tech industry is increasingly recognizing the value of diverse teams. At freee k k, we've seen firsthand how globalization can tap into a broader talent pool, fostering innovation and growth. Our success lies in our focus on creating an environment where talented engineers from diverse backgrounds can effectively collaborate and grow.

Building a Diverse Workplace: Unique Approach

At freee, I continue to preach the "Salad Bowl" approach to globalization - a scalable strategy that celebrates individual uniqueness while fostering collective growth. This approach helps unleash each member's potential by preserving their distinct characteristics and perspectives. Unlike the "melting pot" approach, where individuals are expected to conform to a dominant culture, such conformity often leads to decreased creativity and innovation as team members feel pressured to suppress their unique perspectives. I was keen on measuring approach through psychological safety. To my surprise, I was impressed by the scores despite the challenges and opportunities.

Enhance Production Engineering via Product Led Engineering (PLE)

Product-Led Engineering (PLE) empowers engineers to make autonomous decisions while fostering transparency and accountability. It aligns technical decisions with product goals and customer needs to unlock individual potential and growth. Through PLE, engineers develop a product-centric mindset—thinking like product owners and weighing product goals and market trends.

As a key initiative in building a scalable product engineering team, I am committed to implementing PLE principles and practices. By fostering a culture that supports autonomous decision-making, transparency, and accountability, we can unleash individual potential, growth and drive innovation.

It was a great experience to try PLE on a small scale based on the “Output → then think” value.

tl;dr from initiative 

• Motivation for PLE: The team wanted to move from project-based work to a customer-centric model, focusing on user needs and delivering greater impact.

• PLE in Practice: The shift led to increased ownership, customer focus, better prioritization, and greater satisfaction based on the impact of work.

• Key Lessons: Open-mindedness, customer interaction, an agile mindset, and a desire for growth were essential for success. The team learned to start small, iterate, and embrace failures as learning opportunities.

• Advice for Other Teams: Start small, iterate, and prioritize the shift in mindset that PLE requires.

DEI: The Foundation of Effective Globalization

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) serves as a cornerstone of effective globalization. By embracing our ideal-driven culture and the Salad Bowl approach, I firmly believe we can create an environment where diverse perspectives are welcomed and actively cultivated. This approach recognizes that true globalization begins with transforming our workforce, where each individual's unique cultural background and viewpoint contributes to our collective strength.

Through DEI initiatives, we aim to establish a framework beyond mere diversity quotas, focusing instead on creating genuine inclusion where different minds and cultures naturally coexist and collaborate. This could be instrumental in our ability to build world-class products, as it enables us to tap into a rich tapestry of global talent while ensuring everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work.

Implementation Challenges

While we have been some successes for globalization at freee, we face three key implementation challenges that require attention:

• Cultural Barriers: Integrating diverse cultures while maintaining a cohesive team dynamic can be challenging.

• Resource Allocation: Ensuring adequate resources for DEI initiatives and PLE training requires strategic planning and investment.

• Measurement and Metrics: Quantifying the impact of DEI and PLE on organizational performance remains complex, necessitating innovative metrics.

• Communication Barriers: Ensuring creating inclusive messaging that resonates across cultures.

Building Success Through Inclusive Excellence

I believe globalization's success stems from the "Salad Bowl" philosophy and the PLE approach, which enables diverse engineering talent to thrive together. By celebrating differences while fostering unity and with strong DEI team support, freee has become a leader in global engineering. 

At freee, I am committed to enhancing the global product engineering experience through globalization and product-led engineering (PLE). My key focuses are:

• Engineering Strategy: Crafting a comprehensive strategy that aligns with our global ambitions and product goals.

• Frameworks for Product Engineering and Innovation: Developing methodologies and frameworks that facilitate product engineering and encourage innovation within the team.

• Fostering Product-Minded Teams: Cultivating a culture where teams think like product owners, prioritizing customer needs and outcomes.